Women's Lacrosse Prepares for James Madison

Last Weeks Games

Game 7: #2 Virginia 7, #5 William & Mary 6
Sophomore Samm Taylor (Springfield, Va./Robinson) raced from midfield and scored with 27 seconds to go to help the Cavaliers defeat the Tribe 7-6. Taylor's goal broke the sixth tie of the game as neither team led by more than a goal. It was the second year in a row that UVa has defeated W&M with a goal in the final minute. UVa scored first as senior tri-captain Kate Evans (Swarthmore, Pa./Strath Haven) scored 12 minutes into the game. W&M tied the score but Evans responded to put UVa up 2-1. The Tribe staged a mini-rally, scoring off the next two draws. Jessica Hull (Arnold, Md./Broadneck) tied the score with five minutes remaining in the half for a 3-3 halftime score. Beth Potter (Swarthmore, Pa./Ridley) put UVa up in the second half with a free position goal. The Tribe tied it up but UVa kept the lead as Kara Ariza (Lansdowne, Pa./Penn Wood) one-timed Evans' pass to give UVa the 5-4 lead. The Tribe scored twice in 8 seconds to put them up 6-5 with ten minutes left. Senior tri-captain Heather Patton (West Chester, Pa./W. C. Henderson) scored to make it 6-6, setting the stage for Taylor's heroics.

Game 8: #13 North Carolina 5, #2 Virginia 4
UVa scored first but was unable to withstand the Tar Heel charge as UNC held the Hoos to their lowest total this season and upset the Cavaliers 5-4. Evans scored on a free position nine minutes in to put UVa up 1-0. Carolina tied the score and went ahead 2-1 on a goal with eight minutes remaining in the half. Taylor tied the game for the Cavaliers with a charge from the midfield with just over five minutes remaining in the half for a 2-2 halftime score.UNC regained the lead with a goal two minutes into the second half. The Tar Heels then took a two-goal lead, the only time UVa has been down by two goals this season. Potter tried to rally UVa as she scored the first of her two goals with 11 minutes left. She took a pass from Evans on the crease and found the net to pull Virginia within one. After UNC went up by two again, her goal on a crease challenge two minutes later cut the deficit to one. Virginia earned a free position with a minute to go, but could not finish the rally.

The Cavaliers are in the midst of a six-game road trip and are looking ahead to a date with the Spiders of Richmond. Virginia leads the all-time series 17-2-1 but have not lost to UR since 1984 for a 12-match win streak. The Hoos will be looking for their 100th all-time win against an in-state opponent. Last year Virginia shut out the Spiders 13-0, the first shutout for Virginia since 1981 (vs Lynchburg, 7-0).

A good portion of the team, including head coach Julie Myers, will travel home this weekend as the Cavaliers travel to Philadelphia to face the seventh-ranked Owls of Temple. Virginia leads the Temple series 7-5 and won the contest last year 14-10. Last year at this time the Cavaliers faced Temple after playing Richmond in the game before. Temple is

On Sunday the Hoos will stay in Philadelphia as they tangle with the Wildcats of Villanova. This will be the first-ever contest between the two schools. Virginia has faced a team of Wildcats before, though (UNH) and has lost both times.

Individual Notes

April is the Cruelest Month--NOT!: Virginia opens up its April schedule with the Richmond game on Wednesday. Overall, April is the best month for the Cavaliers in terms of win-loss percentage. Virginia has a record of 139-48-4 in April for a 73.8% clip, the best month of the Cavalier season.

Helping Out: Beth Ann Potter has moved into the top eight all-time on the career assist chart. Her 35 assists puts her in the eighth position. She needs ten to move into a tie for third with Cherie Greer (45). Lindsey Sheehan holds the all-time record with 129, which is second all-time in the NCAA.

Helping Out, Too: Kate Evans, who led the team in goals last year with 41, is leading the team in assists with 5.

Her twelve goals, with at least one scored in every game, (11 games in a row) is second on the team.

No goal for you!: UVa is allowing its opponents less than 5 goals a game, which is in the top 5 in the NCAA.